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Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Maja Stark captures U.S. Women's Open for first major title
June 2 - Maja Stark has won tournaments around the world, but a professional victory in the United States eluded her. Now she's a U.S. Women's Open champion. Stark carded an even-par 72 to win the second major of the year by two shots Sunday at Erin Hills in Erin, Wis. The 25-year-old from Sweden led the championship by one stroke through 54 holes and outlasted World No. 1 Nelly Korda, who got within a shot of the lead before petering out on the back nine. "I just didn't want to get ahead of myself. I thought there's still a lot of golf left to be played," Stark said. "I just felt like people are going to pass me probably, and I just had to stay calm through that. "I didn't look at the leaderboards until I was on like 17. I caught a glimpse of it. It was nice." Stark posted a 7-under-par 281 for the week. Korda (71) tied for second with Japan's Rio Takeda (72) at 5 under, and South Korea's Hye-Jin Choi carded a 68 to claim a share of fourth place at 4 under with countrywoman Mao Saigo (73) and China's Ruoning Yin (70). Korda had a 2-under front nine to get to 6 under for the championship. Stark was nursing a one-stroke lead over Korda when she birdied No. 11 from 14 feet. Korda bogeyed the par-3 13th and birdied the next hole, but only after an eagle opportunity slid by. Stark made a two-putt birdie at No. 14 to get to 9 under and had enough cushion to absorb bogeys at the difficult Nos. 17 and 18, where she missed each fairway. "You need to kind of think about every shot here," Stark said of the difficult course setup. "Maybe not the tee shot on 10. I think that's fine. But everything else, you've just got to have your brain working for you, whereas like on normal weeks, you can kind of bail out. Here, not really." Stark has six wins to her name on the Ladies European Tour. One of those, the ISPS Handa World Invitational in Northern Ireland, was co-sanctioned by the LPGA and earned her a tour card in 2022. Before Sunday, the highlight of Stark's minimal major resume was placing second to Korda at the 2024 Chevron Championship. Now, she is just the third Swedish woman to win a U.S. Women's Open after Liselotte Neumann and golf legend Annika Sorenstam. "It's so cool. They texted me yesterday and just kind of said, 'Bring it home,'" Stark said. "That was already cool to just get those texts. Just looking at all the names on the trophy. I love the U.S. Opens. I'm so happy that it's mine now." Korda came up short of a would-be third major victory. She earned her best finish at a U.S. Women's Open and her third top-10 after she missed the cut last year. "To have that showing last year definitely put a dagger into my heart, but that's just golf," Korda said. "You're going to lose more than you win a majority of the time. I feel like I actually learn a lot about myself and my game and where I need to improve playing the U.S. Women's Open because it does test every part of your game. "It's also super motivating ... to see where my game's at. Hopefully I can continue trending in the right direction for a long season ahead." Takeda made an early double bogey in an otherwise solid round to stay close to the top of the leaderboard all day. She tied for ninth at this championship last year in her major debut and followed that with a T2 on Sunday. "This is a major, of course, and it is a big tournament. So I always thought that I would like to do my best here," Takeda said. Julia Lopez Ramirez of Spain played in the final pairing with Stark after shooting a 68 on Saturday. She struggled from the outset and finished 1 over for the event after a triple-bogey 8 on the final hole destined her to a score of 79. --Field Level Media
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jeeno Thitikul leads Mizuho Americas with Nelly Korda four back
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand feels so much better when she sees putts going in, and Thursday was an happy occasion at the Mizuho Americas Open. She took only 26 putts, eight of them for birdie, in a clean start of 8-under 64 to lead by two shots. Thitikul was bogey-free at Liberty National and had the advantage of playing in the morning with virtually no wind on the course across the Hudson River from Manhattan. Advertisement She finished strong, dropping a short iron into 5 feet on the 17th and judging the distance perfectly on the closing hole with a shot that stayed below the hole and left her only about 3 feet for birdie. Celine Boutier of France ran off five straight birdies in the middle of her round to account for not taking advantage of the par 5s. She was at 66 with Hye-Jin Choi of South Korea and Lindy Duncan, who lost in a five-way playoff at the Chevron Championship two weeks ago. 'I think my putter working well, better than Chevron week,' said Thitikul, the No. 2 player in the women's world ranking. She opened with rounds of 71-75 at the Chevron Championship, the first major of the LPGA season. Thitikul took off last week and devoted a lot of time to her putting, almost to a fault. She found her emotions going all over the place depending on the result. Advertisement 'First couple days I've been back home and I putt a lot, a ton,' she said. 'I feel good when I see it drop but I feel bad when I see it miss. ... And I was like, 'No, you can't be like this.' It's in or it's not. It has to be the same feelings and emotion." 'I just going to putt less and think less. That's pretty much I want to do,' she said. 'Because mental-wise, pretty important to see all putts in. I don't want to be so tight and tense.' Besides, she felt the greens were tough for everyone at the major. 'We're here, hit it good, and also making the putts,' Thitikul said after her 11th round of 64 or lower over the last four seasons. Advertisement Defending champion Nelly Korda had six birdies — three of them on the par 5s — to account for a few bogeys on her front nine and finished in the group at 68. Korda, the No. 1 player in women's golf by a big margin, has yet to win this year. She won the Mizuho Americas Open a year ago for her sixth victory of the season. Her game hasn't been as sharp this year, and Korda is more interested in looking ahead. 'Just got to focus on what my game plan was last year — that was one shot at a time, not to get ahead of myself,' Korda said. 'I know at the beginning of the year I had a lot to defend, but I think that instead of putting pressure on myself I should be happy that I was in that moment, that I did achieve all that great success. So just go out here and do what I love.' The group at 67 included Haeran Ryu of South Korea, coming off a victory last week at the Black Desert Championship in Utah that elevated her to No. 5 in the world. Her round included a bogey on her final hole.
Arab News
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Arab News
Jeeno Thitikul happy to see putts go in and lead at Liberty National with a 64
JERSEY CITY, N.J.: Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand feels so much better when she sees putts going in, and Thursday was a happy occasion at the Mizuho Americas Open. She took only 26 putts, eight of them for birdie, in a clean start of 8-under 64 to lead by two shots. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport Thitikul was bogey-free at Liberty National and had the advantage of playing in the morning with virtually no wind on the course across the Hudson River from Manhattan. She finished strong, dropping a short iron into 5 feet on the 17th and judging the distance perfectly on the closing hole with a shot that stayed below the hole and left her only about 3 feet for birdie. Celine Boutier of France ran off five straight birdies in the middle of her round to account for not taking advantage of the par 5s. She was at 66 with Hye-Jin Choi of South Korea and Lindy Duncan, who lost in a five-way playoff at the Chevron Championship two weeks ago. 'I think my putter working well, better than Chevron week,' said Thitikul, the No. 2 player in the women's world ranking. She opened with rounds of 71-75 at the Chevron Championship, the first major of the LPGA season. Thitikul took off last week and devoted a lot of time to her putting, almost to a fault. She found her emotions going all over the place depending on the result. 'First couple days I've been back home and I putt a lot, a ton,' she said. 'I feel good when I see it drop but I feel bad when I see it miss. ... And I was like, 'No, you can't be like this.' It's in or it's not. It has to be the same feelings and emotion. 'I just going to putt less and think less. That's pretty much I want to do,' she said. 'Because mental-wise, pretty important to see all putts in. I don't want to be so tight and tense.' Besides, she felt the greens were tough for everyone at the major. 'We're here, hit it good, and also making the putts,' Thitikul said after her 11th round of 64 or lower over the last four seasons. Defending champion Nelly Korda had six birdies — three of them on the par 5s — to account for a few bogeys on her front nine and finished in the group at 68. Korda, the No. 1 player in women's golf by a big margin, has yet to win this year. She won the Mizuho Americas Open a year ago for her sixth victory of the season. Her game hasn't been as sharp this year, and Korda is more interested in looking ahead. 'Just got to focus on what my game plan was last year — that was one shot at a time, not to get ahead of myself,' Korda said. 'I know at the beginning of the year I had a lot to defend, but I think that instead of putting pressure on myself I should be happy that I was in that moment, that I did achieve all that great success. So just go out here and do what I love.' The group at 67 included Haeran Ryu of South Korea, coming off a victory last week at the Black Desert Championship in Utah that elevated her to No. 5 in the world. Her round included a bogey on her final hole.
Globe and Mail
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Globe and Mail
Jeeno Thitikul happy to see putts go in and lead at Liberty National with a 64
Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand feels so much better when she sees putts going in, and Thursday was an happy occasion at the Mizuho Americas Open. She took only 26 putts, eight of them for birdie, in a clean start of 8-under 64 to lead by two shots. Thitikul was bogey-free at Liberty National and had the advantage of playing in the morning with virtually no wind on the course across the Hudson River from Manhattan. She finished strong, dropping a short iron into 5 feet on the 17th and judging the distance perfectly on the closing hole with a shot that stayed below the hole and left her only about 3 feet for birdie. Celine Boutier of France ran off five straight birdies in the middle of her round to account for not taking advantage of the par 5s. She was at 66 with Hye-Jin Choi of South Korea and Lindy Duncan, who lost in a five-way playoff at the Chevron Championship two weeks ago. 'I think my putter working well, better than Chevron week,' said Thitikul, the No. 2 player in the women's world ranking. She opened with rounds of 71-75 at the Chevron Championship, the first major of the LPGA season. Thitikul took off last week and devoted a lot of time to her putting, almost to a fault. She found her emotions going all over the place depending on the result. 'First couple days I've been back home and I putt a lot, a ton,' she said. 'I feel good when I see it drop but I feel bad when I see it miss. ... And I was like, `No, you can't be like this.' It's in or it's not. It has to be the same feelings and emotion. 'I just going to putt less and think less. That's pretty much I want to do,' she said. 'Because mental-wise, pretty important to see all putts in. I don't want to be so tight and tense.' Besides, she felt the greens were tough for everyone at the major. 'We're here, hit it good, and also making the putts,' Thitikul said after her 11th round of 64 or lower over the last four seasons. Defending champion Nelly Korda had six birdies – three of them on the par 5s – to account for a few bogeys on her front nine and finished in the group at 68. Korda, the No. 1 player in women's golf by a big margin, has yet to win this year. She won the Mizuho Americas Open a year ago for her sixth victory of the season. Her game hasn't been as sharp this year, and Korda is more interested in looking ahead. 'Just got to focus on what my game plan was last year – that was one shot at a time, not to get ahead of myself,' Korda said. 'I know at the beginning of the year I had a lot to defend, but I think that instead of putting pressure on myself I should be happy that I was in that moment, that I did achieve all that great success. So just go out here and do what I love.' The group at 67 included Haeran Ryu of South Korea, coming off a victory last week at the Black Desert Championship in Utah that elevated her to No. 5 in the world. Her round included a bogey on her final hole.
Associated Press
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Jeeno Thitikul happy to see putts go in and lead at Liberty National with a 64
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand feels so much better when she sees putts going in, and Thursday was an happy occasion at the Mizuho Americas Open. She took only 26 putts, eight of them for birdie, in a clean start of 8-under 64 to lead by two shots. Thitikul was bogey-free at Liberty National and had the advantage of playing in the morning with virtually no wind on the course across the Hudson River from Manhattan. She finished strong, dropping a short iron into 5 feet on the 17th and judging the distance perfectly on the closing hole with a shot that stayed below the hole and left her only about 3 feet for birdie. Celine Boutier of France ran off five straight birdies in the middle of her round to account for not taking advantage of the par 5s. She was at 66 with Hye-Jin Choi of South Korea and Lindy Duncan, who lost in a five-way playoff at the Chevron Championship two weeks ago. 'I think my putter working well, better than Chevron week,' said Thitikul, the No. 2 player in the women's world ranking. She opened with rounds of 71-75 at the Chevron Championship, the first major of the LPGA season. Thitikul took off last week and devoted a lot of time to her putting, almost to a fault. She found her emotions going all over the place depending on the result. 'First couple days I've been back home and I putt a lot, a ton,' she said. 'I feel good when I see it drop but I feel bad when I see it miss. ... And I was like, 'No, you can't be like this.' It's in or it's not. It has to be the same feelings and emotion. 'I just going to putt less and think less. That's pretty much I want to do,' she said. 'Because mental-wise, pretty important to see all putts in. I don't want to be so tight and tense.' Besides, she felt the greens were tough for everyone at the major. 'We're here, hit it good, and also making the putts,' Thitikul said after her 11th round of 64 or lower over the last four seasons. Defending champion Nelly Korda had six birdies — three of them on the par 5s — to account for a few bogeys on her front nine and finished in the group at 68. Korda, the No. 1 player in women's golf by a big margin, has yet to win this year. She won the Mizuho Americas Open a year ago for her sixth victory of the season. Her game hasn't been as sharp this year, and Korda is more interested in looking ahead. 'Just got to focus on what my game plan was last year — that was one shot at a time, not to get ahead of myself,' Korda said. 'I know at the beginning of the year I had a lot to defend, but I think that instead of putting pressure on myself I should be happy that I was in that moment, that I did achieve all that great success. So just go out here and do what I love.' The group at 67 included Haeran Ryu of South Korea, coming off a victory last week at the Black Desert Championship in Utah that elevated her to No. 5 in the world. Her round included a bogey on her final hole. ___ AP golf:
